Really, Leah

Dear Creative Friends, 

I started to write you a letter saying, Happy Easter, and calling it a day. But I thought better of it after reading this passage during my devotional. The text in the book of John 15 verse 13 states, “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.” (NKJV). Jesus demonstrated His profound love for His friends by sacrificing His life for them.

Why should this matter to us? Because Jesus bestowed the honor of friendship on any person who does what He commanded them to do. Jesus goes on to say in verse 15, “But I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you.”

The magnificent gift of friendship with Jesus is like getting good news from your dad, who by the way is “father of the year” every day of the year! Your perfect dad tells you he is about to give you a substantial, mind-blowing, early withdrawal from your boundless trust fund. But that’s not all. He is going to distribute funds to each of your friends, too, you can all enjoy the financial rewards together. With one stipulation: Your friends must follow your dad’s instruction. 

Most people, at least my friends, would lean in to fully understanding the conditions, instructions, orders for such a generous offer.  I mean, your dad didn’t have to include them, did he?

The conversation might go something like this:

“So, what is it?” my friends and your friends might ask. “What must I do?” 

And then you’d say, “My dad wants all my friends to love one another as I have loved you.  My dad wants you to love each other so much that you would give your life for the other.” 

“Give my life. Whoa!”

In fiction, we come close to seeing the commandment of God fulfilled through friendship in several iconic characters.  Katniss Everdeen, in The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, takes her sister Prim’s place in the games, which puts Katniss at risk of an early death. She does the same for Rue, another young tribute, and for Peeta when he needs medicine. Gandalf in J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings sacrifices himself to stop the Balrog demon monster, which  allows Frodo and his friends to continue their quest to destroy the One Ring and defeat Sauron. Lastly, and my favorite, you must remember, Aslan, the beautiful lion, from C.S.Lewis’ The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. Aslan sacrifices himself to save rebellious Edmund, who has betrayed his siblings and sided with the White Witch. Aslan’s sacrifice is one of the best allegorical representations of Jesus Christ’s sacrifice on the cross, highlighting the themes of selfless love and redemption!

We love reading, watching, and crafting stories like these because they make us feel brave and righteous. But have you ever considered how far your friends would realistically go to save your life? Better yet, what would you do to save them?

After one of the most celebrated weeks of Jesus’ life, He “gives” up His life, to make our friendship with Him possible. He is captured and crucified in our place, to reconcile us to a Holy God, a Father in Heaven. And the rewards we are currently eligible to redeem because of His sacrificial love are far superior to any earthly trust fund. His love is everything. 

The apostle Paul, who was once a chief persecutor of Christians, said to the church in Rome, “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. For if when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. Romans 5:8 (NKJV)

It is one thing to die for a friend, but it takes an incredibly supernatural good heartedness to die for people who are anything but friendly to you.  That’s what makes Jesus such an aspirational being, holy, beyond compare, and worthy of the reverence received during Holy Week and every other week. 

As I stated earlier, I did not intend on writing anything much. I did not want to put any attention on work. However, when I read that scripture this morning (Good Friday), I knew I had to share with you, my friends, what My Father had made known to me. 

In His love, really

Leah